The Bats

Royal Shoals

The Bats

How do you tell the story of The Bats?
One that began over 29-years ago in Christchurch, New Zealand. One that has included three EP's, seven albums and two compilations, numerous international tours and received gushing reviews from every corner of the music press.
Formed in 1982 by Robert Scott (The Clean) chief songwriter on lead vocals and guitar, bassist Paul Kean (Toy Love) singer/guitarist Kaye Woodward (Minisnap) and drummer Malcolm Grant (The Builders). Following a series of EPs, came their outstanding debut Daddy's Highway in 1987 and from there it has been a stream of acclaimed albums all the while amassing fans and friends around the world.
And here we have the next chapter of The Bats story. Titled, Free All The Monsters, the band's eighth album shows them in top form. Recorded at Seacliff, a former asylum in the grand Victorian style just outside of Dunedin, New Zealand, and
masterfully produced by Dale Cotton (HDU, Dimmer), it captures some of their strongest songs to date.
From the melodic and insanely catchy title track, through to the psychedelic thrum of 'Space Junk', the lo-fi folk of 'Simpletons' and the soaring instrumental passages - Free All the Monsters is filled with powerful and haunting guitars, delicate vocals and rhythms that swerve and stomp throughout.
It's a tale overflowing with cleverly crafted tunes. One that immediately pulls the listener in, and leaves you wondering what's next.

Royal Shoals

"Boasting exes from The Ropers, Saturday People, and Public Record, the Shoals dive deep into a pool of post-punk influences that we wish more bands would feel comfortable in — we’re talking Orange Juice, early James, Mighty Lemon Drops, Miaow and so on here. (Real back pages of NME circa mid-80s stuff here, the kind we’ve been geeking out on since, well, the mid-80s.) But Royal Shoals are not a retro exercise: They just know what they like, and with all apologies to those other bands, this has a more fun spirit than what you might have found in prime Thacher-era Britain. You might even dance to this."